Go Ask Your Daddy - Which Translation Is Best?

Only in the past 100 to 200 years or so have we had to deal with this issue. There are now so many translations it is often difficult to make a decision. You do need to find one that you will read. The KJV (King James Version) is a beautiful translation but today most people find the language somewhat difficult, so you probably are going to have a harder time picking that one up to read. Readability should not be your only criteria however. Accuracy is, in my mind, more important. Most accurate translations today are highly readable.

Bible translation "theory" falls into two basic camps, or methods.

Formal equivalency is the "word-for-word" translation of the original language. This process attempts to translate the precise wording of the original. The NASB (New American Standard Bible), ESV (English Standard Version), KJV, NKJV (New King James Version), RSV (Revised Standard Version), and NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) are translations that fall in this category. Most of these translations would be comfortable for someone at the 10th grade reading level or above.

Dynamic or functional equivalence attempts to capture the meaning of the original without focusing so much on the form of the grammar or the words. You might call them a "thought-for-thought" translation. As Dan Wallace says,

"It allows more room for interpretation and is easier to understand."

The NIV (New International Version), NCV (New Century Version), and NLT (New Living Translation), use this method of translation. TLB (The Living Bible) and "The Message" are often put in this category but are really a full "paraphrase" rather than a translation and should be avoided for any serious study of the Bible. You will find most of these translations falling around the 7th grade reading level.

For years I used the NIV, without much thought to the translation methodology. The NIV is a reasonable compromise as it falls into the more literal of the "thought-for-thought" translations, if that makes sense. After learning of the translation methodology however, I prefer to make my own interpretations, rather than relying on the translators, i.e. dynamic equivalence translations. Therefore, I prefer those translations that take less liberty with the original text. This is the Word of God and we should remain very careful in our handling of the text. I find that the ESV translation is best for me.

Lest you think I am being a bit too critical, take a look at this short video (1:55) from John Piper on getting a Bible with all the words.



I do find it helpful to have the NIV available for comparison's sake as it is often useful to compare a difficult passage across translations. However, the same company that publishes the NIV also publishes, or used to (I believe they have stopped publishing this version), the TNIV (Today's New International Version). The TNIV uses "gender-neutral" language not found in the original and is a totally unacceptable version.

No matter which version you ultimately choose the main point is to read it!